8/12/2015

I attended a Bridal Shower here at 11am last Sun morning.  The place was still fairly empty with guests scattered about in all different areas of the restaurant for breakfast/brunch/sangria.  I love the building itself.  There are all these different seating areas and hallways, brick and dark and intimate.  Nice outdoor dining area also.

The waitstaff was AMAZING.  We had two servers.  One guy welcomed me into the private dining room and was so pleasant and accommodating.  Sangria, coffee and Orange Juice were served.  Both servers were efficient and attentive all through our party from 11-2.  Really great and refreshing.

Small plates were served.  Starting with argula salad and bacon wrapped figs.  Chicken and sausage skewers and spicy potatoes with the most amazing aioli accompaniments.  Garlic toast with goat cheese in marinara and stuffed mushrooms.  All very tasty and light since you get a very tiny plate of your own to dine from.   I enjoyed it very much.  

I will be back.

8/11/2015

We came here on a Sunday for brunch around 11 am. The restaurant was larger than I had expected and there were plenty of empty tables, but these began filling up as we were leaving around noon. Despite its size, it's still quite cozy and has great ambiance.

I can't speak to the authenticity of the food, but we were definitely impressed, particularly by the sausage-fried paella rice. Still reminiscing about the perfectly charred sausage bits. The poached egg on top makes it acceptable for breakfast, and when mixed in, makes the rice so creamy! We also ordered the pinxtos platter which was gorgeously presented on a wooden paddle, and the buttermilk waffle with marcona almond, nutella and bananas. You can definitely taste the salt in their french toast and waffles, but the sweet syrup balances it out nicely.

My boyfriend tried their Bloody Mary bar which was a lot of fun! You get to choose from a glass of vodka/bourbon/gin/tequila and add your own juice and add-ins. They have everything from your classic celery stick to bacon strips to cocktail shrimp on skewers. Would recommend if you like Bloody Marys.

In the middle of our meal, we ordered the buttermilk-fried chicken thighs from their limited dinner menu. This took a few extra minutes to come out compared to the rest of our dishes (which were brought to our table within 10 minutes of ordering). The chicken was good with a tangy sauce that made for a nice contrast, but nothing spectacular. Our waitress apologized several times for the delay, and also brought us complimentary desserts (pear sorbet and caramelized banana). Ended our meal on a sweet note. Needless to say, impressive service!

I love that you get to try a variety of food without breaking the bank. Everything is very reasonably priced and some of the portions are quite substantial. I can't wait to go back to try their other menus (especially the other paella varieties).

• 

  Caramelized Banana - it's like creme brûlée but healthier...

  Caramelized Banana - it's like creme brûlée but healthier...
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  Buttermilk-fried Chicken Thighs

  Buttermilk-fried Chicken Thighs
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  Sausage-fried Paella with a Poached Egg - YUM

  Sausage-fried Paella with a Poached Egg - YUM
• See all photos from Catherine Z. for Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

8/10/2015

Three years ago, I studied abroad in Madrid and I can't seem to shake off my love of Spanish cuisine. When a friend suggested Cafe Ba ba reeba, I was immediately sold. He promised it tasted authentic and I couldn't wait to try!

It did not disappoint!! We ordered the croquetas, buratta, garlic potato salad and paella con pollo y verduras. I have absolutely no complaints. It was all so good! The croquetas came with a blend of ham and chicken. They were crispy and delicious! I especially loved the garlic potato salad. It was a simple dish that was packed with garlicky flavor! (tip: you might not want to order this if you're on a first date).

The paella was perfect! I'm usually picky about whether or not the flavors are right or the rice is quality but this was everything and more. A server brings out the paella in a large pan and mixes it at your table. The portions are then served out and they are huge! You have to order a minimum of two servings but if you're getting tapas as well, the two servings could easily feed more than two people! So delicious!

Oh and how could I forget about the drinks! We ordered half a pitcher of white sangria between the two of us and it was the perfect refreshing addition to our meal.

Make sure to check in on yelp to get a free dessert. I was obsessed with the caramel custard. It had the perfect creamy consistency and completely satiated my sweet tooth!

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  Chicken and vegetable paella. Minimum order is two servings. This is one!

  Chicken and vegetable paella. Minimum order is two servings. This is one!
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  garlic potato salad. So good but so garlicky

  garlic potato salad. So good but so garlicky

7/29/2015

I've been wanting to come here for a long time and we finally made it out on Wednesday for happy hour at the bar. They had $3 tapas so we got to try a ton of different things. My favorite was the bacon wrapped dates. It was a combination of sweet and savory but really bold flavored! We also had the ham croquet, chicken empanada, meatballs, and the mushroom toast thingy. They were all small flavorful bites. My bf also had the grilled octopus but was disappointed that it was a bit too salty. We also order the pork paella. It came out really hot and well seasoned.  Overall, ton of food!

Since we were there, we absolutely had to try the sangria! We had a pitcher of the white peach one, and it was one of the best sangrias I have tried. I also wanted to try another one and the bartender was nice enough to give me samples of them all. So my second favorite was the black raspberry followed by the passion fruit. The plain red was my bfs favorite, it really has that red wine flavor! And the sangria of the day was mango which was a little too sweet for me. I would definitely come back here for just drinks and small bites at the bar.

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  Chicken empanada

  Chicken empanada
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  The bacon wrapped dates and the octopus tapas

  The bacon wrapped dates and the octopus tapas
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  Meatball!

  Meatball!
• See all photos from Karolina T. for Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

7/30/2015

Four stars for food, but their service ups it to five.

FOOD: Not usually the biggest fan of tapas because I leave hungry, but their portions are huge! For veggies, I liked the spinach & manchengo-stuffed mushrooms. For seafood, I liked the grilled octopus, citrus-cured salmon, and bay scallops empanada. If you really want to be stuffed, get the paella; they claim one order serves two, but the serving size is way bigger. I liked the seafood paella because the bay scallops are so soft and tender; however, my cousins liked the chicken.

DRINKS: Mango sangria, end of story. There's fruit - it's healthy.

DESSERT: Pear sorbet. Again, fruit - healthy. SO healthy.

SERVICE: They accommodated our party of 13 extremely well, even though we stayed past closing. Case in point: They forgot to place one order, but brought it out much later during the meal - on the house. They were also great with us using so many free Yelp dessert check-ins.

7/28/2015

On a recent trip to Chicago my bf and I met up with my cousin's wife for dinner at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba. SEVERAL people had recommended it to me, so we were excited to try it!

The food was stellar. Some of the scrumptious plates we shared included the goat cheese baked in tomato sauce with garlic bread; fried green peppers & course salt (YA'LL THESE WERE SO INEXPLICABLY GOOD); spicy potatoes with tomato aioli; and mushroom, toast, aged roncal cheese & sherry gastrique. The food was truly delightful.

Also I apologize for my likely misuse of semicolons in my food descriptor sentence. There's no way that sentence is grammatically correct.

The fun environment and delicious food make for a fantastic dinner!

8/3/2015

Came here for my birthday yesterday and it was beyond perfect. Cafe baba Reba is one of my favorite restaurants so it was obviously a no brainier to take my family here. I worked with Michelle from the event staff to get everything planned. A big thank you to Michelle. She helped me customized a menu of all my favorite things. Hands down my most favorite lettuce entertain you restaurant. Our waiter was great! The management was great! The front hostess not so great (but everything can't be perfect) the menu appealed to everyone bc I included a little bit of everything with the help of Michelle. The food was absolutely delicious, the sangrias were amaze balls (red and mango). I couldn't of hoped for a more perfect birthday dinner.

7/27/2015

Loved the food and the ambiance.

Stuffed mushrooms: my only qualms about this dish was the heat--when it got to us, it was somewhat lukewarm, which made me think that these are made in large batches and kept hot rather than made fresh. However, the flavors were fantastic--loved the spinach and breadcrumb filling, and the cheese topped everything off very nicely. Would definitely order again.

Short ribs: extremely tender and very nicely done.

Scallop empanadas: my favorite entree of the night. The puff pastry was perfectly rich and flaky, and the scallop filling was light, fragrant, and delicious all around.

Grilled octopus: lovely pairing with the vinaigrette, but a little to salty for my taste. The cook on the octopus was very nicely done--tender and not too chewy, as is my issue with octopus generally.

Seafood paella: this was the one dish I would definitely do without. While there was a rather generous dose of scallop and shrimp, I found it way too salty, not to mention I was already pretty full from the other tapas we ordered.

For dessert, my friend and I got the butterscotch custard and the vanilla bourbon chai ice cream. 10/10 would recommend the ice cream--I loved how the flavors of the bourbon and chai combined. There was a nice balance between the two, allowing the bourbon to dominate but not overpower the chai and vanilla flavors. The ice cream also came with a fig cookie on the side, which I wasn't a huge fan--the ice cream was definitely the star of the dish, and I found the cookie a bit out of place. I also enjoyed the butterscotch custard, which had a very nice, strong butterscotch flavor, but after a while I found it a bit too sweet for me.

Overall, really enjoyed the tapas as well as the dessert tapas--I love tasting different foods and entrees, and Cafe Babareeba offers a large selection of high quality flavors (if a bit on the heavier side) to choose from.

7/25/2015

This place has a great "feel" to it as far as I'm concerned. it's a lot of fun with a terrific atmosphere in a great neighborhood.  

The food is average to above average.  I certainly don't think it's worth the hype it receives.  The seafood is alright, not fantastic I wouldn't say it's the best available. They do some sincerely unique things with their food and I do love manchengo cheese, but somehow it all just falls short.  The flavors just don't seem to combine as well as they could.  It's like they're "almost there"  but not quite there.  They use lots of garlic, which is admirable.  I would have just hoped for something a little more unique given the reputation.

This isn't my best review, more general than normal, but I believe it's nonetheless accurate.

DEFINITELY worth a visit.  it's a fun place, and a good time.  It is in the ballpark of authentic tapas.  I guess I just had better stuffed dates at Hubbard Inn and of course, Avec, better empanadas at Habana Libre, and better shrimp at the now defunct, "1492".

7/13/2015

Tapas Extrordionaire!! This restaurant was packed on a Thursday night when my date and I went for the first time. The service was well organized and we were seated for our reservation early and approached by our server immediately. The menu consisted of 50-60 items in true Tapas style.

There were micro-bites that cost $1 a piece. We started with one of each. They were all delicious. We then started ordering regular tapas. Blue Cheese steak was one of the stand-outs, we ordered some ceviche dish that was great. Honestly all of the tapas were crafted with care and tasted awesome.

I returned a second time with a larger group and had a 5 star experience yet again. This place is boss. If you're looking for some perfect tapas, look now further

5/11/2015

Ba-ba-ba-barbara ann...wait, I mean, Reeba! I LOVE THIS PLACE!

My party of 5 came here for dinner around 6 PM and the wait for a table was about 45 minutes so we decided to just grab a table at the bar area. The tables at the bar area is first come, first serve and they still offer the entire menu of the restaurant. Shortly after we ordered our food, I got a text saying our table was ready on the restaurant side but we decided not to move.

We ordered a bunch of food and it all came out very quickly besides the paella, which the waiter did warn us that it would take about 30-40 minutes to cook.

We also got the peach sangria 1/2 pitcher to split between 4 people and that was more than enough. It was so yummy and not too strong at all.

Citrus Salmon: It was a spread of salmon with citrusy round thing and you eat it with the bread that's provided. It was interesting and I love salmon so it was a new twist to it.

Pork Skewer: DELICIOUS, I wished we had more of it. Juicy and very flavorful. It came it two skewers with about 3 cubes of meat on the skewer so it was just enough for each of us.

Scallop Empanada: My friends and I loved this dish! The filling of the empanada just melts in your mouth.

Sea Scallops: I personally thought this was a bit too bland for my liking.

Octopus: LOVED this dish. I thought the octopus was grilled just perfectly and it was deliciously seasoned, not too overpowering in taste.

Short Ribs: This piece of meat was just heaven, it melts in your mouth and oh so succulent. The mashed potatoes that came with it was one of the best I've ever had!

Paella: the paella came out right on time, shortly after we finished all the tapas and had a few minutes to digest the food a bit. It is a minimum of two orders and it was just enough to split between five people. I likd the paella but I was a bit full towards the end so I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have.

DESSERTS: Yelp had a super awesome offer of a free dessert w/ check in so we got 3 orders: Flan, apple empanada, and the banana one; our favorite ranked as Banana, apple empanada, flan. But TBH, they were alll very yummy!

The total bill for the seven orders and sangria came out to roughly $27 a person after tax and tip, which is reasonable (considering we got free desserts!!). It is better to eat with a bigger group so you can try a bit of everything.

PRO:
+free parking across the street, if you're lucky
+they will text you when your table is ready
+bar area is first come, first serve so snatch an open table if you see one
+great service, great food, yummy drinks!
+FREE desserts w/ Yelp check in and they don't limit the amount of free desserts/table so get everyone at your table to check in!!

• 

  Yummy desserts

  Yummy desserts
• 

5/15/2015

I've been coming here for many years, and I have yet to order something off the menu that I don't like. This was the first tapas bar I ever tried, and they still have my favorite sangria. A couple pointers:

1. Their bacon wrapped dates are the bomb. Get them. Trust me, just get them.

2. Great sangria, you really can't go wrong with any flavor but try their cava sangria or white peach sangria to mix it up.

3. Try the pintxos platter to get a little bite of everything for a reasonable price - 6 tapas for 11$

4. Spicy potatoes with tomato alioli, beef skewer with horseradish cream and red onions, serrano ham and garlic potato salad are some of our favorites.

I have been returning here for 5 years now, it is a tapas staple with consistently good food and service.

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  The pintxos platter: chorizo wrapped medjool date & cheese, shrimp, tuna toast (now mushroom toast) deviled egg, fried croquette

  The pintxos platter: chorizo wrapped medjool date & cheese, shrimp, tuna toast (now mushroom toast) deviled egg, fried croquette

5/21/2015

Delicious brunch on the weekends.  Very busy place so try to make reservations, but there are enough tables you just might get a walk-in spot or you can just sit at the bar (and get full food service).

Citrus french toast best item we had, nice thick toast with a great goat cheese and honey spread.  It also came with some maple syrup but didn't need it.  The meatballs were delicious, and the sauce was great on the free bread.  Paella is large and takes time, but seems to be worth it if you know that's something you like.  Skip the papas bravas, looks tasty but the seasoning and the aioli are both bland.

And if you have a sweet tooth I recommend visiting Annette's Italian Ice a few blocks west (by the Armitage CTA stop)

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  Meatballs

  Meatballs
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  Papas bravas and what's left of citrus french toast

  Papas bravas and what's left of citrus french toast
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  Paella being served.

  Paella being served.

7/16/2015

I really liked this place! Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba has brunch options along with everything else. It's so perfect. I went for their brunch but also ordered a couple of dinner options. I ordered the hash (amazing with the egg and oozing yolk on top!), scallops (this was okay), beef short rib (really tender), pork belly kabob (pretty good), and the octopus (this was my favorite). I also ordered their sangria and a chocolate tart cake with vanilla ice cream. Service was also very good!

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  Hash with egg (yolk oozes out!) on top

  Hash with egg (yolk oozes out!) on top
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  Chocolate tart and vanilla ice cream

  Chocolate tart and vanilla ice cream
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  Beef short rib

  Beef short rib
• See all photos from Cindy L. for Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

6/23/2015

Tapas for brunch is a great breakaway from the traditional, and it's a very fun and group-friendly choice! I've only been for brunch and the wait isn't bad. On a Saturday, it meant around 45 minutes, and that's plenty of time to get a head start on their sangrias on tap. Brunch comes with its own tapas menu, though you can order from the standard menu. Prices are reasonable for the tapas size and quantity. Flavors are fantastic and varied. There were only a few items I wouldn't get again, like the baby shrimps and grits.

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  Tiny shrimps/grits and baked eggs for breakfast

  Tiny shrimps/grits and baked eggs for breakfast

7/10/2015

Our second trip here and we were not disappointed. Samantha our waitress was awesome and she gave our daughter a fantastic dessert plate....This place is cozy well designed and I beg someone who is In the rest biz on long island NY open one of these up Pleeeez.....

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  Three little piggies or egggs

  Three little piggies or egggs
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  Three little piggies or egggs

  Three little piggies or egggs
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  Jambone......delish

  Jambone......delish
• See all photos from John J. for Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

6/25/2015

So I've travelled to Spain.. Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid Sevilla & this by far blows foods in those countries out of the water. Seriously. Everything was extremely flavorful & delicious. Best Spanish placed I've eaten so far & surpasses Cafe Iberico.

I highly recommend the seafood paella. I had seafood paella in Valencia (where paella originated) & this restaurant surpasses Valencia's 110%. I loved the garlic potatoes, octopus, spicy shrimp tapas. (Sorry I can't be more specific) Everything on the menu is great honestly. You can't go wrong.

Definitely get the pitcher of Mango Sangria. You don't taste the alcohol & it has just the right amount of apples & lemons to deliver a delicious balanced taste.

In addition, service was great. The waitress accidentally gave away our octopus to the table behind us and she immediately reordered & took it off the bill for us.

Definitely a great place to go for a celebration/client lunch outing/fancy - casual dinner!

8/1/2015

This place used to get an F and was full of Schaumburg a few years ago, but I think they upgraded their chef. Lots of good stuff: steak skewers great, shaved Brussels sprout salad, and very nice octopus dish moves this place up to a 4. Calamari is standard but aioli is good. Chicken thigh bites are avg. Cocktail list is copy cat and the drinks are only ok, but sangria is good. Worth revisiting if you gave up like us a few years ago!

6/12/2015

Back in the mid to late 2000s, I used to come here and spend a lot of money on not a lot of food (although delicious).  Fast forward almost 10 years, and nothing has changed.  The plates are so small and light, you need to handle them with delicate hands.  If you've got the shakes, your food will go flying off your plate.  You've been warned!

Go to Cafe Iberico for larger portions.  Dishes are a notch below Ba Ba Reeba's regarding authenticity and taste, but you will get more value!  Or try Black Bull, although it's a smaller restaurant with a slightly more avant garde take on common Spanish dishes.

7/15/2015

The wait on a weekend night is loooonng, but well worth it.

We arrived around 7pm on a Saturday night and were told 45 minutes. No big, we hung out by the bar and had a couple of tasty cocktails. By the time our table was ready, I was nice and happy.

Robust, intriguing menu with all kinds of tapas AND a gluten free version! We got:

-Scallops
-Beef kabob
-Chicken curry salad
-Burrata salad
-Short rib w/ mashed potato
-Chocolate flourless cake

Everything was excellent, but my favs were the chicken curry salad and the short rib (and the cake, obvs).

Server was attentive and knowledgeable, complimentary basket o' bread was warm and delicious, and the lighting made everyone look hotter.

Will definitely return!

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  Burrata, chicken curry salad (best in the Midwest), beef kabob

  Burrata, chicken curry salad (best in the Midwest), beef kabob
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  Scallops!

  Scallops!

6/15/2015

Super sweet brunch spot in Chi-town!  Best to go with a group of 4+ that way you can try all the delicious noms!  I don't recall every dish we tried but here were the highlights:

-Deviled Eggs and jamon serrano - our favorite of the Pintxos items! The filling was super smooth and flavorful and the crispy jamon made this over-the-top; we ordered a second round of deviled eggs because they're THAT good.
-Iberico Ham Hash: I shamelessly have a serious love for canned corned beef hash and this dish is the luxe, pimped up version of a childhood favorite.  The poached egg soaks into all the crispy bits of ham and potato and oh my word that HAM.  Iberico Jamon is generally regarded as the best ham in the world so yeah, it's DECADENT.
-Baked Eggs with Romescu Sauce: definitely one of the more unique (and beautiful!) egg dishes I've had which is served with a red pepper sauce from Catalonia. Hearty and healthy!
-Citrus French Toast with goat cheese butter: a slightly lightened up version of traditional French toast and it's a great balance of sweet, tangy, and zesty

Don't forget to wash everything down with a pitcher of their sangria!

This place is perfect for groups and people of all ages, there was even a brunch wedding reception taking place when we were there!  So yes, be sure to roll in with a large entourage.  The more, the merrier at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

4/19/2015

My all time favorite tapas place in Chicago.

I love the outdoor seating in the summer and the coziness in the winter. The servers are friendly and always have suggestions if you're stumped on what to get.

My favorite tapas are...  
The patatas bravas are delicious! The aioli that is served with the potatoes is very tasty.

The bacon wrapped dates so delicious! I wish there we're more on the plate.

The beef short ribs with mashed potatoes are so good but come in such a small portion it can't be shared. Well, maybe others can share them.

The champiñones (stuffed mushrooms) are stuffed with manchengo cheese and overall deliciousness in a mini cup.

The goat cheese is devine; a perfect mixture of tartness and sweetness.

The croquetas and the empanadas are served with two delicious aiolis. We usually try the cheese and chicken varieties.  

The sangria tho.... It's so good. If they have the mango sangria get it. While the red and white sangria are great staples the specialty sangria are executed perfectly.

Dessert: all of them! But really, that butterscotch shot is so creamy and delicious I want some right now.

Love this place so much I had my wedding shower here.

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  Butterscotch goodness.

  Butterscotch goodness.
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  Flan.

  Flan.

8/2/2015

Went for brunch this morning and got the Citrus French toast and the big portion of the palatas bravas. they were amazing ! Wish there was a little more of the goat cheese butter and honey but I'd order this again and the potatoes too! The potatoes are the perfect amount of crispy and seasoned and whatever the sauce is that they put with it-mayonnaise based and a little spicy? I'm not sure but we almost ordered a third order because of how delicious it was. I've been for dinner too but that was a year ago and I can't even remember what I got but it was quite tasty that I came back willingly! They are good about splitting checks too.

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  Citrus French toast and palatas bravas (bigger option) AMAZING

  Citrus French toast and palatas bravas (bigger option) AMAZING

7/4/2015

Came here because of the raving reviews. However the food was lackluster.

We ordered the octopus, but it came out burnt. The service was good in that the server came out with another plate right away, but the second plate was still semi-burnt. We also tried the seafood paella. It was good, but not the best I've had. The rice was soft and crunch at the same time, but I wish we had more seafood and more flavoring.

Tip: check in and get the free dessert. The banana dessert was definitely the highlight of the meal.

Overall good service and good dessert, but the food overall was uninspiring.

• 

  The banana dessert was absolute delicious - definitely the highlight of the meal.

  The banana dessert was absolute delicious - definitely the highlight of the meal.
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  Seafood paella - could be more flavorful.

  Seafood paella - could be more flavorful.

8/13/2015

Best bruschetta EVER!!! The chunks of garlic and tomato were awesome and I loved that it was not crunchy cracker bread, it was soft and delicious. Had the skirt steak, was really yummy. The owner came around and poured tequila into our mouths which was really fun. Outdoor seating is nice

7/24/2015

Best tapas in Chicago. This place has great service, nice atmosphere, and the food is great. Wide variety of dishes, which are all flavorful and great. I would suggest the Paella - it takes 30-40 min, so order some tapas meanwhile; it's worth the wait.

Great place to take friends from out of town.

5/26/2015

Tapas, galore!! I needed 30 minutes to try and choose what I wanted to order and even then had a hard time narrowing it down. We had a party of 6 with each person ordering 2-3 dishes so a TON of food. I got to try most of it and everything (besides the empanada I ordered- blah) I tasted was absolutely delicious and unlike any other food I have ever had. I especially loved the deviled eggs, stuffed mushrooms and garlic shrimp. Loved the diversity and uniqueness of  this place.

We sat on the very cute patio and our service sucked. It took TWO hours for lunch and we just wanted to get out of there so bad by the time we were finished but our waitress wasn't going to let that happen. She had the personality of a wet mop and couldn't manage to get any of our checks right.The manager stood by the computer for about 20 minutes trying to help her ( she still got it wrong when she brought the checks out) and neither one of them approached our table to apologize or explain the confusion. She couldn't even muster up a "sorry it took so long, have a nice day" by the end of it all. NOTHING. Very poor service and management.

I still wanted to give 4 stars for everything else aside from service and would definitely give it another shot and hope for a better overall experience.

8/13/2015

We had the worst waitress ever! She gave such a nasty attitude. I'm not sure why?! The food is great as always. But she made our experience the worst. We kept wondering what's wrong! She gave us a poker face without any feedback when we ask about things. Maybe she had a bad day, but should we go through this?

2/21/2015

My wife and I ate at Ba Ba Reeba before attending a concert at "The Riv" (aka stinky shit hole).  We have eaten at BABAReeba before, but we were really rushed and I wasn't addicted to Yelp at the time, so this is my first review...

We ate at like 4 PM, so the place was empty.  We sat by the windows in the bar and it was cold as hell.  The server was the bartender and he was kinda meh, and was gone for significant swatches of time.  So whatever, it was between shifts so I figured we would get B- service, no big deal.

We ordered several items from the tapas menu.  They were all great.  I would rate Baba as my third favorite tapas resaurants behind Meson Sabika (#1) and Bien Trucha (#2).  

We had a pleasant experience and it was the beginning of a great weekend!

• 

  Braised short rib.... Omg

  Braised short rib.... Omg
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  Grilled squids!

  Grilled squids!
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  The bar

  The bar
• See all photos from Jon P. for Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

5/22/2015

Always a fan of this place when I have a group of people who need a good, reasonably priced place to eat. Most of my friends enjoy the idea of small plates and trying a bunch of different foods, so this is perfect.

Sangria is always good, I stick with the traditional red sangria which seems to be drier in comparison to the others (although still sweet).

Service is always good, food is great, very accommodating for larger groups!

3/9/2015

Cafe Ba-ba-reeba is a crowd pleaser hot spot, great for large groups! The Spanish tapas and flavorful sangrias made for a perfect girls night out/birthday dinner. We did have some issues with reservations and having to wait for a table to clear out for our party of 10 on a Thursday night, but the staff was apologetic and gave us a free bottle of sangria.

Our waiter was helpful in suggesting how many dishes to order and how much sangria. We got three bottles of sangria and I was a HUGE fan of the blood orange and blackberry - all about the fruit ones! As for the food, we all ordered a couple of dishes and we're just blown away by how tasty everything was. Garlic shrimp, spinach and manchego stuffed mushrooms, scallops and spicy potatoes were my top favorites.

We showed the waiter our Yelp checkin for the free dessert tapa and because it was my roommate's birthday, he actually brought out a whole platter of all the desserts with a candle and a sweet message. So perfect!! The desserts were to die for - esp the pumpkin ice cream sandwich and butterscotch custard. Man, oh man!

Overall, a fun tapas restaurant with delicious food and lively ambiance. I'll definitely be back again for sangria and to try the paella!

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  Shrimp with garlic, olive oil and red pepper - decadent!

  Shrimp with garlic, olive oil and red pepper - decadent!
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  Best sangria in town!

  Best sangria in town!
• 

  Chicken with eggplant, eggplant, arugula and couscous... Pass next time for the other, more exciting dishes on the menu

  Chicken with eggplant, eggplant, arugula and couscous... Pass next time for the other, more exciting dishes on the menu
• See all photos from Sallyann Z. for Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

5/24/2015

I loved this place!  We have only had the opportunity to hit two Spanish style tapas places in Chi-town, so this review is based on my experience at these places, as well as my recent ones in Spain.

Everything that we had here was pretty darn good.  The service was excellent as well.  I can recommend the following: Deviled egg, Chorizo wrapped medjool date, Catalan bread, Patatas bravas, sea salted green peppers, calamari, Tortilla espanola,  
Shrimp with garlic olive oil, Roast dates with bacon and apple, the Albondigas, Skewered chicken and chorizo sausage and red sangria. We were skeptical about how good (or bad) this place would be after a failed tapas experience on Friday night somewhere else.  We were more than delighted here!

I would highly recommend this place!

8/10/2015

Oh how I miss this restaurant! The best thing about this restaurant is the size of menu that comes with a wide flavor palette. I personally do not care for their empanadas, but everything else is amazing.

5/11/2015

So good!!

We went for my best friends birthday dinner and I nearly exploded, we ordered so much.

First, get the BLOOD ORANGE SANGRIA. You will kick yourself if you don't. So sweet. The best part is the alcohol-y fruit.

The tapas were really great and authentic. Totally brought me back to Spain! Loved the cheeses and meats. The paella was rather good and not too heavy.  We ordered about one plate per person at the table plus an order of the chicken paella, and it was far more than enough--almost too much.

Overall, it was a bit expensive but worth the money. The extra few bucks were definitely made up for with the quality.

7/27/2015

This place is pretty cool if you like tapas style food.  This place is definitely lively and energetic for certain. Our waiter was very kind, patient and informative.  

There was a group of us and so we went around the table and ordered chicken, spicy potatoes, a little salad, drinks and some dessert after wards and the taste was good.  It's definitely a new experience for me since I've never been to a tapas place before.  

The highlight for me was the spicy potatoes. Very good and had a very unique taste to them and highly recommend them.

Parking the night we went was very tough, but I got lucky and finally found a spot after looking for 45 minutes.  Definitely leave early if you're gonna try make your reservations on time.

7/12/2015

Quick Summary
---
Delicious tapas at a great price with consistently some of the best service I've experienced in any restaurant. As with any popular Chicago spot, reservations are highly recommended, as walk-in wait time can be long, but once sat, service is incredibly fast. Highly recommended: #44 (shrimp with garlic), #67 (bacon wrapped dates), seafood paella, and any flavor of sangria.

Intro
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This has become my favorite restaurant in Chicago, and my 5-star rating isn't a case of severe fanboyism, but is a distinction well-earned through repeated visits. I've been to Spain and loved the food there, so I was very excited to try. The first time I went was with a couple friends, and I was very impressed with the quality of food, drinks, and service. It's not the most authentic Spanish cuisine, but the inspiration and heart is there.

Setting
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Very warm and cozy. However, the restaurant is huge and there's so much activity going on around it can be loud and hectic. Added bonus: hanging Iberican hams for that authentic Spanish touch!

Service
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Despite the craziness of all that's going on during a busy night, my table has never been neglected or forgotten. Food comes out in blazing fast times after ordering. The bussers are attentive in clearing your dishes and refilling your drinks. Everyone seems happy to serve you.

Food
---
There are so many different tapas, I will highlight the ones I've particularly enjoyed.

Roast dates with bacon & apple vinaigrette: Bacon wrapped dates has been overdone to oblivion but the apple vinaigrette is a nice complement that sets it apart. Second-best bacon wrapped dates I've had (sorry Ba-Ba-Reeba, but the honor of #1 goes to Avec!)

Seafood paella: Has a generous amount of shrimp, scallops, and monkfish. I despise green beans but I don't even care that they're in this dish, it's absolutely delicious. The rice has the perfect consistency.

Burrata with tomatoes, charred sweet corn, and avocado: A great marriage between all the different ingredients. The char on the corn brings an appreciated depth to the dish, and the cheese is very fresh. Vibrant and light!

Shrimp with garlic: They are unapologetic with the garlic. A blast of flavor will spread over your entire palette as you meditate on the texture of the perfectly cooked shrimp. Dip your bread in the leftover oil. It is liquid gold.

Caramelized banana: I can inhale ten orders of these if I wanted to. All desserts here are delicious but this one in particular is fantastic. Great toasty flavor from the caramel while never overpowering the banana. Texture contrast provided by pistachios. Temperature contrast provided by the ice cream. A delight to the senses.

Sangria: I hate sangria. I love Ba-Ba-Reeba's sangria. Five great permanent flavors with a rotating seasonal flavor. Do yourself a favor and get a pitcher... for yourself.

Other notes
---
What? They have a brunch you say? Admittedly I have not gone there for brunch service. I will have to make the effort to try it out. Check out their rewards program. Though Lettuce Entertain You does require money up front, you receive credit through your first several visits to make up for it.

Conclusion
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I applaud the staff at Ba-Ba-Reeba, both front-of-house and back-of-house. It is a well-tuned machine that operates efficiently amidst all the chaos. Great service, great food, great memories. If you haven't tried Spanish food, Ba-Ba-Reeba is a great place to go. Have guests coming into Chicago? Hot date? Casual night out? Whatever the occasion, Ba-Ba-Reeba is sure to please.

Grade
---
(1* - never come back, 2* - poor, 3* - good, 4* - excellent, 5* - perfect)
Ba-Ba-Reeba gets a 5*. Way to go!

7/25/2015

Immediate reaction after eating: stopped in at 2pm on a Sat, busy but we (party of 2) was seated immediately. I really wanted a paella and though the menu was half brunch and did not list the regular paella, had no problem ordering the chicken paella. Also we got the octopus, spicy potatoes and the buttermilk chicken. the tender octopus and the buttermilk chicken....whoa whoa!!! I started closing my eyes while eating those, the dishes were off the chain, I could have passed on the potatoes but they were great with the sauce...the paella came and was hot and the chicken was tender, too much Lima beans but that is just me....we also did a check in and got the free dessert and we picked flan from the dessert list. Nice small tapas size of flan perfect for 2 people to share, I am glad it didn't taste lipgloss cause flan sometimes can do that. We also had the passion fruit sangria and it was solid but not something I will likely remember..if you want good sangria go to nandos

Eat the octopus and buttermilk chicken, get the paella to fill up and take home. Service is professional and attentive and not overly friendly which is actually how I like it , glad I went and I ate it all and am taking paella home.

• 

  That octopus tho...

  That octopus tho...

7/20/2015

We let the server pick our dishes and they were pretty amazing.

-scallops
-chicken/ham/cheese fried stick things
- caprese dish
- stuffed mushrooms
- beef something
- buffalo chicken pieces

I'm a generally unimpressed food-spoiled-I've-eaten-better/everywhere person and this was a great meal. Refreshing that they don't slack despite their popularity.

6/1/2015

Umm. This is tapas heaven.

If my stomach could live up to the challenge, I would totally order everything and eat it all but it can't and that makes me utterly depressed.

I walked in one evening with a friend and was kind of digging pretty much everything about the place.

We ordered the brussels sprout salad, spicy potatoes with tomato aioli, garlic potato salad, the short run with manchego mashed potatoes, citrus cured salmon, grilled iberico pork shoulder, and the paella valenciana. I also got the mango sangria which I loved since it didn't have a strong wine taste to it.

We loved both the potato tapas because well, starches are freaking delicious- loved the crispness of the spicy potatoes. The short rib was cooked beautifully tender and the paella had plenty of meat in it.

Service was excellent as well. Our waiter came by plenty of times to check up on us. They also served up the paella which was different for me.

I plan to return when I'm back in Chicago. Mmmmm

• 

  Brussels sprout salad and potato salad

  Brussels sprout salad and potato salad
• 

  Paella valenciana

  Paella valenciana
• 

  Paella valenciana, spicy potatoes, grilled iberico pork shoulder

  Paella valenciana, spicy potatoes, grilled iberico pork shoulder
• See all photos from Selina C. for Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

2/18/2015

Here's some of the things I had during my recent trip to Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba:

1. Passion Fruit Sangria was nice, fruity, refreshing. Everything a sangria should be.

2. Roast Dates with Bacon and Apple Vinaigrette. Still my favorite dish here. Vinaigrette is not overpowering at all. Delicious!

3. Fried potatoes had a nice kick to it. It could have been a little more crispy or fried. But the tomato aioli paired nicely with it.

4. Rioja-Braised Short Ribs - Pretty tender but pretty bland. Could have done without this dish.

5. Deviled Egg Pintxos - Incredibly salty.

6. Paella Valenciana was a tad too 'al dente' for me. It's unfortunate that if you're here on a date and want to try this, you must get a minimum of 2 servings. Two servings is enough for about 4-5 people, and with all those tapas to order, well you do the math. I was so stuffed I never wanted to eat again.

7. Butterscotch - My usual go-to-dessert from here, which is topped with salted caramel (hella salty, bleh) and a dollop of whipped cream. The butterscotch itself was pretty delicious.

Overall, this experience fell very short of the previous times I visited. Maybe it was an off night but it was enough to de-throne them from my 'Favorite Restaurants in Chicago' list. Bummer.

• 

  bacon wrapped dates!

  bacon wrapped dates!
• 

  paella

  paella
• 

  Butterscotch

  Butterscotch
• See all photos from Mei K. for Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

7/7/2015

Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! has become a tradition during our Chicago visits. Nashville doesn't have tapas and I need to get my fix. One thing I really love about Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba is the consistency- our favorites remain our favorites and just how we remember them. The menu changes pretty regularly and we try to order a few new things as well as our standards. The sangria is always good but you can't beat Mondays with 1/2 prices cocktails!

Our favorites:
-Goat Cheese baked in tomato sauce- served with crusty bread
-Burrata with heirloom tomato and charred sweet corn- what summertime dreams are made of.
-Brussel sprout salad- shaved sprouts, toasted nuts, cheese. Fresh and delicious!
-the short rib dish (prep varies, but always delicious)
-calamari fritti-- super light and crispy batter
-The Chocolate Truffle Cake dessert and the Butterscotch pot de creme are dreamy.

The atmosphere is great- sit on the patio with the retractable roof if you can!

This place won't revolutionize your tapas world, but it's a great and dependable restaurant for a tasty spanish-influenced dinner with friends or family!

7/28/2015

I called Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba less than a week in advance to reserve a good-sized surprise birthday party (10-12 people) for my girlfriend. They were flexible on timing, and asked if I was celebrating a special occasion. When I mentioned that it was my girlfriend's birthday, they asked her name and said that her dessert would be comped. Great customer service!

When we arrived, the staff was friendly and reasonably attentive, the ambiance was warm and inviting, the prices were fair and the food was delicious. Despite the hundreds of great restaurants in Chicago we've yet to try, my girlfriend has already suggested coming back here, and I have to agree!

4/25/2015

This is my favorite tapas place. We come here every year for our work holiday party and are never disappointed. I've been to other tapas restaurants that seem to favor quantity over quality of food. I consider the food here to be gourmet tapas that is a cut above many of the other places I've tried.

My absolute favorite dishes are the braised short ribs, paella valenciana, and chicken curry salad. I also enjoy the serrano ham & cheese platter, spinach & manchengo stuffed mushrooms, goat cheese in tomato sauce, and seafood paella.

5/8/2015

Babareeba is my favorite Tapas restaurant. The food here is always consistently delicious and the staff is awesome.

My first experience with Baba was in 2000. Wow! So long ago and I've been coming back ever since. I've tried some of the other popular Chicago Tapas restaurants such as Emilio's and Iberico and they don't compare in terms of taste, ambiance or even service. Not to mention that Babareeba has an awesome happy hour every day that is a steal.

I'll surely be back.

11/25/2014

For $20, you can enjoy dinner of 2 selections that can be complimentary or a complete dish in itself.  Effort in balance and value for $$.  ALL dishes were prepared well and seasoned.  Common menu.

DEVILED EGG ($2) -- One gulp.  One egg.  Painfully addictive and delicious.  Firm.

GOAT CHEESE IN TOMATO  ($8) -- shareable by 2-4...unless you love goat cheese that much.

FRIED GREEN PEPPERS ($6) -- a good complimentary side dish.  There is a Japanese version of this at Goat you know who.  *wink* I finally got lucky with one green hot pepper.  The red pepper is both sweet and hot.

SHORT RIB ($12) -- a complete meal.  Girl portion.  Good.  Nothing exemplary.  Filling. Content.

PORK BELLY & PORK LOIN ($8) -- skip it.  Pork belly was good and moist.  Pork loin did have flavor but was too dry for my taste.

SANGRIA -- very clean taste where the booze can still creep up on you.  Taste like water.  :-)

COAT CHECK -- complimentary.  Yay!  There are still some things for free.  A part of excellent service.

VENUE -- dark and romantic.  Space is tight but somehow I didn't mine it.  Unusual.  High table and short chair that is comfortable for 6'2" but weird for shorties.  The lighting...everyone looks fantabulous.

SERVICE -- Great!  No time for chumminess but you are ever neglected or forgotten.  They automatically brown bag for you.  All staff says 'thank you' when you leave.  And, you can't sneak out the brown box without a brown bag.

How I wish I can order Paella for one.  I look forward to enjoying and sampling the rest of the dishes.  Brunch Lunch and Dinner.

• 

  Baked Goat Cheese and Tomato

  Baked Goat Cheese and Tomato
• 

  Roasted Peppers

  Roasted Peppers
• 

  Grilled Pork Belly and Pork Loin

  Grilled Pork Belly and Pork Loin

5/3/2015

This is for sue my favorite place for dinner tapas in the city. The sangria is on point and favorite dishes include- goat cheese baked in tomato sauce, spicy potatoes with tomato aioli, flank steak, seared lamb loin, meatballs, roasted dates, and shrimp with garlic.

I just went for brunch lately; it's a great option in the city as it offers breakfast tacos which is unique. Recommendations- spinach and artichoke crepe, and the shirt rib slider. The paella was a bit odd as a breakfast dish. The bites were also a lot of fun so I would definitely do one of those a person.

12/7/2014

Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba is a favorite of my wife's and we try to go whenever we're visiting Chicago.  That being said, it's probably been nearly 4 years since we were here last.  The restaurant has definitely stood the test of time.  

The Goat Cheese, Patatas Bravas and bacon wrapped dates are a consistent hit and the Deviled Egg pintxos, though new to us, were a great addition, too.

I had the Jack, Mike and Ginger and my wife went with a classic margarita, both were quite tasty.  

We aren't often in Chicago these days, but I'm sure we will keep visiting Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba whenever we're in town.

• 

  Goat Cheese!

  Goat Cheese!
• 

  Deviled Egg Pintxos

  Deviled Egg Pintxos

8/4/2015

Parking is a bit hard unless you valet but the tapas are great and the sangria is strong. Had a whole damn pitcher by myself! Little on the pricey side though.

4/1/2015

They stuck us in a dark, cold corner in the back of the restaurant "because the front isn't open right now."  When we all commented on how cold it was, the hostess offered to "turn the heat on."  ON??  You didn't even have the heat ON??  The high that day was 34 DEGREES, LADY.

Dishes were overpriced and generally unmemorable.  The goat cheese in tomato sauce that everyone raves about?  Well, if you've ever had warm goat cheese on a pizza, it's exactly like that (except without the crust, and for quadruple the price per volume).  Pitchers of sangria were at least 60% ice by volume.  One star for the bread and olive oil, although really, give us enough for the whole table.  They finally got the memo on that after the third time we asked.

7/7/2015

Went here for drinks on Sunday afternoon and the place was relatively busy. CHECK IN and you get a free desert tapa.

We sat at the bar. I really enjoyed my glass of wine, my friend ordered a cava but got cava sangria which the one bartender on point, Nico, fixed quickly! There were limited draft options. We also had the vanilla chai bourbon desert tapa which had tasty ice cream but the fig cookie was subpar. Ordered a double shot espresso got a single by accident then they brought out an adtl double for free. Some of the other bartenders seemed loss and over staffed since we were checked over every 3 mins.

I think the reputation of this place as an authentic Spanish tapas bar is very strong so it was disappointing to find the atmosphere more corporate and bland.

7/12/2015

We finally got a chance to visit this place after having it bookmarked for almost 6months...
Have to say totally worth the visit, beautiful ambience with skylights, great menu (also avail GF) and superb food!!
Highly recommend: Bloody Mary (make your own Bloody Mary bar with great garnishes)
Tapas- shrimp, fried calamari, chicken skewers, short ribs.. And caramel bar for desserts :)

Enjoy!!!!!

3/30/2015

¡Caramba! Glad we chose Cafe Ba-Ba-Ree-Ba! for brunch today while in the city.

While it looks deceptively small from the outside, you'll find that the space goes back...and back...and back some more, and then to the side into another big dining room. In a city where it can be hard to find a seat for brunch, they welcomed us with open arms at prime brunch time: no wait, yay!

This is a tapas place, so as long as you don't mind sharing you can choose a bunch of things and have a taste of each. It works well with two diners; not quite sure how it goes for tables of eight (such as the noisy one that arrived halfway through our meal.)

At brunch time you can choose from the Brunch or Lunch menus, but there so many tempting things among the Brunch options that we just held fast. As two people with inquisitive appetites, we ordered bits of this and that and it was pretty uniformly great.

In (roughly) order of fave to least fave:

- Let me start by mentioning the bread at the beginning of the meal: crusty, toasted and served with butter and marmalade. Starting the meal with this assured good things in the future...but don't fill up too much because there's more to come!!

- Citrus French Toast with Goat cheese butter and honey. This was a wonderful amalgam of flavors: sweet citrus against the tang of the goat cheese, all smoothed over with a drizzle of honey. Delicious!!

- Bacon-wrapped dates. This is a tapas classic, and it's not hard to see why. These tiny morsels combine the best qualities of smoky and sweet.

- My dining partner got the mini Cubano, which he adored; I had a bit of the meat, but pork just isn't my favorite thing.

- Waffle-battered Chicken Stick. This is seemingly a chicken sausage stick; some sort of sausage at least was encased by the sweet batter. Sounded like it was going to be a version of chicken and waffles; ended up being more of a Spanish corn dog.

- The traditional Spanish rice dish paella was spicy with chorizo and studded with veggies. I avoided the poached egg, so he got to enjoy its combo of fluffy white and oozing yolk himself.

- Spinach and artichoke crepe. This was spinach-heavy but also filled with mushrooms and cheese. Yum.

- Bacon mac and cheese. Thin but delicious cheesy sauce, with strips of crisp bacon on top. Tasty though paled compared to other things.

- Surprisingly, the thing I liked least was a dish I usually love: shrimp and grits. Their spin used chorizo-flavored polenta in place of the grits (I should mention that this menu is loaded with chorizo in general, so if you don't care for sausage your options are somewhat limited.) The shrimp were what is described as "Spanish baby ghost shrimp," which turned out to be half-inch-long minnow-looking things. The tiny pinpoint black eyes on each is clearly visible, which disturbed me somewhat. Tasted okay, but would not order again.

Daniel, our server, was friendly, explained things well, and checked up on us so we could order more. Also a shout-out to the tireless bussers who whisked away the tiny used plates with speed and refilled water frequently but unobtrusively.

The restaurant is moody with dark wood, but the bathrooms were weird: industrial stainless steel with almost no light in the stalls!

Overall though, this was a thoroughly enjoyable meal. ¡Arriba! Let's go again!

4/6/2015

I am a fan of tapas, and it being both Easter and my cousin's birthday, I thought it would be fun, so I decided on Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba for our family brunch.

We had a reservation and were seated promptly in the back room (where I worried that we may be neglected), but it was no problem. Our waiter and the bus boys were very attentive, and the pace was good. The only thing we had to ask for constantly was water, because the glasses were so small and a few people in our party were only having water. For larger parties where this is the case, leaving a pitcher of water on the table would be best. (Or at least larger glasses!)

My husband and my mom enjoyed the bloody mary bar ($10 for just one trip), while I tried the special sangria which was blood orange and just OK. ($8).

We enjoyed: the spinach and manchego stuffed mushrooms (yummy!), brussel sprout salad (both crunchy and flavorful), beef tenderloin and blue cheese (a definite hit!!), chicken skewer, shrimp in olive oil and garlic, beef benedict, and the seared sea scallops. My daughter loved the chicken empanada, and I was the only one at the table who liked the potato and onion omelet. Of the above listed, the beef tenderloin was definitely a family favorite. We ordered two of those ($11 each), and they were cooked perfectly with the right amount of pink, juicy and tender. My husband is a former chef so he can be hard to please, but he was impressed by the presentation and the demi glazes and other sauces that accompanied the dishes. Most everything was flavorful and appealing to the pallet.

Missing the mark were the scallop empanada (the scallops were buried in all the bread, while the seared scallops were much better), and the grilled flank steak, which was tough. The fingerling potatoes that came with it were good, although that was $9 wasted for such a small, disappointing dish. My cousin also ordered the citrus cured salmon, and was disappointed because it was flattened and thin like paper. Thinner than even smoked salmon usually is, and I think he was expecting a filet, even if it was a tapas-sized one. Yet for our first try, this was not bad.

My husband ordered the veal special and while he was skeptical, it was very tender and cooked to perfection. Our only concern was that it was $17. That's pricey for a small tapas portion!

There was another group seated behind us, and one of the servers gave us their deviled egg by mistake. We ate it before we realized, and we actually would have ordered more if we weren't so overwhelmed by everything else that we had. It was good!

I liked the dessert menu and the fact that those are all $3 each. We got one free dessert for checking in on Yelp, and we ordered another one to sing Happy Birthday to my cousin. We ended up getting that one taken off the bill as well, which was nice. I wanted to try one of their coffees, but decided to wait until next time.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, and I'm only deducting one star for a few dishes and some of the priciness. Since it's all tapas, people are going to order a lot anyway, so prices for each item should be reasonable. Our bill was $190 before tip for 5 of us. Now that we know what we like, future trips can be planned a bit better. I see a date night with hubby in our future.

3/30/2015

This place was simply amazing for a weekend brunch. Start by mixing your own Bloody Mary to your liking. They have all the fixings you could possibly want in your drink. Add a beer back for $1. Order a pitcher of sangria to share with some friends. The tapas were all so good. My favorite was the grilled octopus. I never knew octopus could be so soft to the point that it melts in your mouth. The fried calamari were great. Bacon wrapped dates give you something salty and something sweet. Lamb kabob was tasty. Top everything off with some dessert. I very much enjoyed my flan. You can't go wrong with brunch here. Just know that you'll have to wait to get seated but you can always grab a seat at the bar first-come first-served.

• 

  Instructions to mix your bloody mary

  Instructions to mix your bloody mary
• 

  Bloody mary

  Bloody mary

6/21/2015

Came here for a bday dinner and we ordered a bunch of stuff: octopus, squid, croquettas, braised beef, lamb, beef tenderloin, potatas bravas and some other stuff I cant remember. All that tried was decent but nothing standout, and everyone else felt the same. On the plus side, I like the ambiance, its fun for a group event, and street parking is usually available.

7/18/2015

Can you say bacon wrapped dates? I mean it's so good. The sangria is always a crowd pleaser. Try the peach.
It's tapas, it's yummy, it's always crowded. The service is on par. The lay out of the tables is annoying but the beef tenderloin makes up for any annoyances.

8/8/2015

Everything is excellent. Literally everything! I eat here monthly, and have NEVER left disappointed.

The food is fantastic; I highly recommend the bacon wrapped dates. I always end up getting two orders, because they're just TOO good.
*One thing to keep in mind though--it is a *sharing* experience. They are small plates so that they can be nibbled upon by each party member. The only buzzkill I've ever experienced were my own dinner guests trying to bogart their order and fuss over the bill =)

The sangria. OH my goodness the sangria! The passion fruit sangria is my favorite. The real fruit marinating in booze the whole time is such a great palate cleanser (and kicker).

The service is similarly wonderful; every hostess/waiter/waitress/busser that I have spoken to (keep in mind, I frequent this place monthly) was very pleasant and had a smile ready--even in the worst of the dinner rushes. I have even been offered free desserts a couple times because the staff recognizes me from previous outings, and wanted to "pay me back" for my patronage. How cool are these guys?!

Prices are very fair. I always expect to pay much more than I do, probably because I leave so satisfied, that I feel compelled to give them ALL of my money...

I cannot adequately express how much I love this restaurant! Please, do yourself a favor and make a reservation immediately.

12/10/2014

This review is for their catering / party event coordinating. I went to their website and registered for someone to call me to schedule an event for a corporate Christmas party. This was two weeks ago and till this day no one has contacted me. I left both a landline number and a cell phone number.

Whoever is in charge of their events planning is not doing their job. So if you're looking to plan an event and go to their website to register for someone to call you, no one will. That was my experience.

As far as the food it is pretty good. Again this rating and review is for their event coordinator and not for in dining.

4/11/2015

I'm not usually a fan of tapas but this restaurant changed my mind. Thank goodness for opentable.com reservations esp on a Saturday night. We came at 630 PM and they were packed so we waited at the bar for our 730 PM reservation.  Red sangria kept us company and the bar tender even gave us a sample of the sangria del dia.

Right at 730 PM we got a text that our table was ready and the food just kept coming right after we ordered.

Patatas bravas are hot and crispy on the outside but tender on the inside, aioli is perfect (not spicy for my taste.). Goat cheese in tomato sauce is served with buttered toast. Complimentary bread is sliced fresh with a soft inside and crisp crust. Pan con tomate is crisp bread with the perfect amount of tomato but could've used more garlic in my opinion. Shrimp (gambas al ajillo) in olive oil and garlic with red pepper flakes was my favorite. Dip your bread in it!  Seafood paella was just ok but nice that they sub chicken for monkfish. Rioja short rib was delish. Would NOT rec tortilla espanola, although it came out piping hot it was like a round hash brown that was soggy? Calamari was usual.

Butterscotch custard was perfect with caramel sauce, a perfect sweet and salty.

Ambiance was def lively and celebratory (lots of bday celebrations).

Daniel is the BEST waiter ever!

4/4/2015

I might be a little biased because I love the tapas concept, but Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba made me soooo happy. My friends had highly recommended it, so I knew it would be good, but it was better than good.

  My friends suggested we share the Sangria, which was surprisingly refreshing and not too sweet. After that, it's hard to know exactly happened. A parade of delicious hit our table, starting with chorizo dates and ending with a sampling of 4 of their desserts. I would like to say what my favorite dishes were(grilled squid? brussels sprouts?), but honestly each plate was as good as the one before it, and it is impossible to pick a favorite. All I can say is go, and decide for yourself. Bring a big group and a big appetite, you're in for a treat!

7/17/2015

LOVE Cafe Babareeba! Between the food, atmosphere, and sangria, it is simply amazing!! Have been there about 5 times and will definitely be back for more.

The spicy potatoes, salmon, and white peach sangria are all MUSTS.

8/1/2015 Updated review

Great service,yet again. Took the bro & sis in law here - they've never had tapas!! Had the mango sangria, Ham hash, spicy potatoes, Cuban sandwich, short rib slider, goat cheese in tomato sauce, braised short rib, French toast, seafood paella,fried  dark chicken thighs, pork belly skewer, & a bloody Mary. Everything was phenomena!

8/5/2015

Went here for my birthday with my parents. One of the best tapas restaurants ive been to! The blackberry sangria is amazing. All of the food here is really high quality. This place is HUGE on the inside. You should always split the seafood paella when you come here, the monkfish makes it! Nearly everything is great here excluding the curry chicken salad. It tastes like the same grocery store packaged salad. Very bland tasting. All in all the food and atmosphere here is great though!